In July and August, Lovelace received three rounds of the pain-relieving steroid injections suspected of causing the outbreak of the rare disease, Joyce Lovelace, his wife of 55 years, said.

Representatives from Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center, where he received the injections, called Joyce Lovelace twice after his death to discuss his condition, but did not mention the outbreak, she said.

“They have not confirmed that he died from that,” Joyce Lovelace said. “I am convinced that he did.”

Vanderbilt spokespeople have confirmed the first reported casualty of the outbreak was a 78-year-old man who died there on Sept. 17.

When he died, doctors told his family that his unexpected death was likely caused by a stroke, which is common among critically ill meningitis patients.

Thomas Carroll, the family’s lawyer, is working to officially confirm the cause of death.

Lovelace lived in Albany, Ky., about 130 miles northeast of Nashville.

He had been a circuit court judge for two decades, and was fiercely dedicated to his work, his wife said.

“He always wanted to be known as a judge who knew the law, and he certainly was,” she said. “His career was not over. He had years yet to work.”

OTHER VICTIMS

Less than two weeks after Lovelace's death, 55-year-old Thomas Warren Rybinski of Smyrna died at Vanderbilt. Rybinski worked at General Motors for more than 35 years, according to his obituary. His brother in Michigan, Bob Rybinski, said the death was too fresh to talk about when reached by phone Thursday evening. He is survived by his wife, Colette, a daughter and two sons.
Vanderbilt spokeswoman Melissa Stamm confirmed that Rybinski died of aspergillus meningitis on Sept. 29. Aspergillus is a mold commonly found in the environment.
The third to die was Diana Reed, 56, of Brentwood, whose family confirmed through attorneys Thursday that Reed was told she had meningitis.
She was admitted to Saint Thomas Hospital with severe headaches during the weekend of Sept. 23 and died there around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, said Bill Lassiter and John Belcher of the law firm of Lassiter, Tidwell and Davis.
Saint Thomas spokeswoman Amanda Anderson confirmed that Reed died while she was being treated at the hospital.
The lawyers also confirmed that Reed had undergone a series of injections for neck pain at the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center, which has closed its doors since the outbreak. An autopsy was scheduled Thursday morning.
Reed was the wife of Wayne Reed, namesake of The Wayne Reed Christian Childcare Center on Lindsley Avenue in Nashville.
Her friend Pat Ward of Brentwood said Reed was devoted to her husband, who has been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, for the past 20 years.
“She was his rock,” said Ward, who spent every day with Reed in the hospital while she fought meningitis. “They worked together three days a week, and she would get him up every morning, put him in the wheelchair and take him to work.”